Album Review

The opening instrumental "Rule #76" doesn't bode well for Amber Pacific's second album; its epic keyboard swells forecast a self-important faux maturity of the type that's usually the death of a pop band. However, that leaves directly into the catchy pop-punk of "Summer (In B)" and the ultra-bouncy positivity of "Temporary," so Amber Pacific clearly haven't yet fallen into that particular trap. Overall, in fact, Truth in Sincerity is as straightforward a pop-emo album as The Possibility and the Promise, with the same unfailingly posi vibe in Matt Young's lyrics.

Biography

Formed: 2002 in Seattle, WA

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '00s

Seattle-based Amber Pacific first formed in 2002 as Follow Through while the guys were still juniors in high school. Hopeless Records heard some of the band's initial recordings and signed them up, and the combo made its debut as Amber Pacific in May 2004 with the Fading Days EP. The sound was urgent, slick punk-pop in the vein of Story of the Year, the Audition, and the All-American Rejects. Amber Pacific worked hard in the summer that followed, honing their skills as a touring band with dates on...